because
UCF Offered Exactly What I Needed MARK PLAUMANN, ’74, ’79, WAS NOT A TRADITIONAL junior when he entered UCF, then known as Florida Technological University. “I hadn’t exactly graduated from high school,” he says. “And I hadn’t exactly graduated from Valencia Community College [in Orlando].” Plaumann’s credentials simply lagged his accomplishments. An Orlando native who took summer courses in calculus and trigonometry for fun, he earned his bachelor’s degree just a year after earning his high school diploma (which took him only two years) and his associate degree. Viewed as a prodigy, Plaumann joined Ernst & Ernst — then one of the biggest eight firms in the world — at age 18 and was training for a prestigious assignment in the new consulting division when he decided he needed an M.B.A. Again he turned to UCF, studying at night to complete the degree in 1979.
square feet of real estate around the country, but he remains grateful to UCF for embracing his fast-paced approach to academics. “I flew through the university because they bent over backwards for me,” he says. He shows that gratitude with generous support of UCF’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. “I think it’s a fantastic idea for the university to combine disciplines to develop ideas for viable, new companies,” he says. “People could think of UCF as the school that develops dynamic entrepreneurs who are discovering the next Google.” But for Plaumann, giving back to the university that named him to the College of Business Administration Hall of Fame isn’t just about spurring innovation; it’s also about creating opportunity. “I am the son of a manager of a Black & Decker store,” he says. “My dad was the only one earning money in the family, and we weren’t wealthy by any means. UCF was flexible and affordable, and the education was rigorous. I am grateful for my career, and UCF prepared me for the success I have had.”
Today Plaumann is a managing member of Greyhawke Capital Advisors, a firm that he co-founded, which controls several million
[ MARK PLAUMANN ]
U CF FOUNDATION, INC. • ANNUAL REPORT • 2013
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